Plymouth man sentenced for armed standoff with police

COURTHOUSE >> A Plymouth Township man will be under court supervision for several years and must comply with mental health treatment in connection with his armed standoff with police in August 2016.

Michael Sean Somers, 48, of the 3000 block of Arch Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to six years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a firearm with intent to employ it criminally and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with the 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30, 2016, incident at his home.

Judge Gail A. Weilheimer, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Somers to continue with current mental health counseling and to comply with all treatment recommendations. Somers also must forfeit all firearms to law enforcement authorities.

An investigation began when Plymouth police responded to the residence for a report of an armed man, threatening suicide, according to the criminal complaint. Authorities set up a command center, blocked off neighboring roadways, and summoned the Montgomery County (Central Region) SWAT Team.

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After establishing a secured perimeter around the residence, a trained negotiator contacted Somers by cellphone, according to police. During conversations with negotiators, Somers allegedly expressed his desire to kill himself and threatened to harm any officers that interfered with his plans, according to the arrest affidavit.

“Somers continually stated he did not want to hurt police, however, he has military experience. Somers admitted that he had a lot of guns in the residence…,” Plymouth Detective Joseph LaPenta III alleged in the arrest affidavit. “During the course of this incident, Somers threatened the police with violence on numerous occasions.”

The incident ended when Somers reportedly emerged from the house with a .45-caliber handgun in his right pocket. According to a press release issued at the time by Plymouth authorities, SWAT personnel deployed “less lethal impact and incapacitation weapons” to subdue Somers about 8:30 p.m.

Somers was transported via helicopter to Penn Presbyterian Hospital and then to the Montgomery County Emergency Services for mental health evaluation, authorities said at the time.

After the standoff ended, authorities obtained a warrant to search the home.

“The search of his residence revealed numerous other weapons including handguns, shotguns, crossbows, a Taser device and a large amount of ammunition,” LaPenta wrote in the arrest affidavit. “Somers’ actions required the response of a large amount of police, medical and fire agencies.”